Prof. Zvi Cheshin from Tel Aviv University won the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal in the field of mechanical engineering for 2012

Prof. Cheshin's work on calculating the elasticity of composite materials is considered one of the breakthroughs in the field and was chosen as one of the 100 most important works of the 20th century in mechanics

Prof. Zvi Cheshin, from Tel Aviv University, will receive the Benjamin Franklin Medal in the field of mechanical engineering in a celebratory ceremony. The medal will be awarded to him on April 26, 2012 at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia at the institute's annual ceremony, which is now in its 187th year. The medal has been awarded by the institute since 1824, and encompasses seven different fields: chemistry, computers and cognitive science, environmental and earth sciences, life sciences, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and physics. Among the recipients of the medal in the past are well-known scientists and personalities, including: Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Pierre and Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates.

In the judges' reasoning for awarding the award, it is stated that: "The Benjamin Franklin Medal is awarded to Prof. Cheshin for his groundbreaking contribution to accurate analysis and understanding of the properties of composite materials. Based on the development of mathematical methods for determining the physical, electrical, magnetic, thermal and mechanical properties of these materials. This made possible the production of modern materials that are now used as a component in the fields of aerospace engineering, marine engineering, automotive engineering and civil infrastructure."

Prof. Zvi Cheshin, winner of the Israel Prize, is an emeritus professor at Tel Aviv University and the founder of the Department of Mechanics, Materials and Structures at the university. Prof. Cheshin is one of the top experts in the world for composite materials and the mathematical models he developed were a milestone in the history of the field. His joint work with Shmuel Strickman, his fellow student at the Technion, on calculating the elasticity of composite materials is considered one of the breakthroughs in the field and was chosen as one of the 100 most important works of the 20th century in mechanics. As one of the world's leading experts in the field of composite materials, Prof. Cheshin has researched a lot for the American military forces, primarily the Navy and the Air Force. He also worked in the service of the space agency NASA.
Prof. Cheshin's academic and applied research has received wide international recognition, and he has received many awards and recognition for his work. One of them is the medal for excellence in composite materials research on behalf of the University of Delaware in the United States, which was issued for the first time in 1984 and bears the names of Cheshin and three other outstanding scientists and their portraits.